Are At-Home Mold Test Kits Reliable?

You may have considered purchasing an at-home mold test kit to check for the presence of mold. If you have a musty basement or have found water damage somewhere, purchasing one of these kits might have seemed like a good idea. Afterall, they’re much cheaper than calling a professional, and you could probably save a bit of money doing it yourself.

Whatever the reason may be for wanting to pick up one of these at-home mold test kits, we strongly recommend you avoid it and save your money. Today we’ll discuss why at-home mold tests aren’t reliable, and why we recommend calling a professional mold remediation company instead.

At-home Mold Test Kits Miss the Point

At-home mold test kits come with all sorts of stuff included. Swabs, petri dishes, stickers, plastic gloves, UV sample bags, you name it. However, what they don’t include is a thorough professional home mold inspection.

In 99% of homes we visit, the mold test isn’t the most crucial part of what we do. What really helps us understand the scope of a mold problem is a home inspection performed by one of our highly qualified technicians. Our trained specialists have the knowledge required to understand the big picture of your mold infestation.

The EPA doesn’t currently have a recognized standard for minimum acceptable spore count. Primarily because it’s not relevant. Mold is everywhere—it’s in the air, on surfaces, and in vents. It only needs a suitable medium to begin growing. So a test kit will only tell you what you already know—that mold is everywhere.

Are At-home Mold Tests Reliable?

No. Aside from the fact that-home mold test kits completely miss the point, there seems to be some common failure modes among them. We’ve heard stories of mold test kits arriving with mold growing in them already. Others have had leaky bottles of mold medium, resulting in a contaminated kit.

We’ve also heard from consumers that the companies that produce these kits use fear tactics to scare people into paying for further testing, and services they don’t need. Some kits promise that they can detect the presence of toxic black mold, but when the results come back, there’s nothing in the report that indicates what types of mold are present.

It seems almost impossible to get a straightforward answer from these kits, and some of them cost upwards of $170. My Pure Environment offers a complete home inspection, starting at just $399. When you put that into perspective, purchasing two test kits is almost the same cost as having a professional inspect your entire home in person.

You’ll Still Need a Mold Remediation Company

Knowing that you have a mold problem is one small step on the path to remediation. You’ll still need to call a trustworthy professional mold remediation company to remove the mold. Any mold removal company worth their salt isn’t going to rely on the results of your at-home test kit when deciding how best to treat your mold problem.

So in essence, if you buy a kit, and it tells you there’s mold (which it will), you’re just paying for an extra step. You’ll have to call a professional, who will collect and analyze their own samples. Essentially, you’re paying for testing twice in this scenario.

Skip the At-home Mold Test and Call My Pure Environment

My Pure Environment offers a thorough home mold inspection. Including air and surface sample testing and analysis. We’ll identify the specific types of mold, spore counts, and infested areas. We can formulate the exact right amount of treatment required to ensure your air is virtually mold free. Contact us today for a free consultation, or head to our website to get a free online quote.

Image used under creative commons license - commercial use (3/30/2021) washe4ka (Pixabay)